Spirits of Autumn
by Takara Kuritake
Summary: A year after Aizen's defeat, Ichigo and his friends are still celebrating their triumph over the Hollows, and mourning the loss of friends and family. However, the peace is about to come to a harsh end...and they'll be at the mercy of two outcasts.


_Ehe, hi. I'm new to the whole fanfic thing, so go easy on me! Any critiques would be wonderful. I'm marrying Kisuke. He's mien :)_

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The first day of school hadn't been that bad. Even though she was new, the students of the high school had treated Kana Oritaki nicely. For the first time, the young girl felt optimistic about her mother's decision to move to Karakura town. The autumn leaves crunched underneath her feet as Kana walked alone down the sidewalk. A few girls had walked home with her, but she had already gone past all of their houses. It seemed that Kana lived the farthest away from the school.

'_They had been so kind,'_ the girl thought with a smile. A gust of wind gently played with her black hair, and she ran a hand through it to settle it down. _'They were so welcome to a new girl.'_ She turned a corner, and froze as a truck whipped past her, splashing dirty water all over her new uniform. Instantly her good mood was gone, and she made a face while she inspected the damage. _'Great. Now I'll have to explain to mother how I ruined a uniform on the first day of school…_'

Suddenly the earth beneath of her feet shook violently, distracting Kana from mourning over her clothes. _'Did the truck get into an accident?' _Dashing back around the corner she looked down the street. Others had come out of their houses in a similar fashion to ask the neighbors what happened. But when everyone looked around, there was nothing to be seen. Uneasy murmurs spread amongst the small crowd. That hadn't felt like a normal earthquake…

Something moved at the corner of Kana's eye, and she whirled around to see what it was. Nothing. Shrugging, Kana turned and headed back towards her house. Before she got too far ahead, she felt a terrible impact on her side, flinging her towards the cement wall across the street. Pain flared along her side and head, and she heard herself scream…but soon darkness claimed her, and she quickly died. A hollow snatched her soul before it went anywhere, and ate it hastily, but before it had the chance to flee, a silhouette from behind sliced it mercilessly in two.

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"…And I still wasn't there on time!" Ichigo Kurosaki snarled, banging his fist on the table. His presentation was observed by many solemn and worried faces around the small room of Kisuke Urahara's shop. Yasutora "Chad" Sado, Uryū Ishida, Rukia Kuchiki, Orihime Inoue, Yourichi Shihōin, Renji Abarai, Tessai Tsukabishi, and Kisuke Urahara himself all were gathered around the abused table, regarding the orange-haired teenager with mixed expressions.

"We all knew the hollows would make a recovery sooner or later. Hollows get hungry; even Aizen's defeat could't hold them back for long." Rukia put in logically. Next to her, Renji shook his head in disagreement. The red-haired man looked perplexed, and upset.

"This 'recovery' is happening far sooner than we thought. The way that they strike and run…I've never heard of it. For the last week all we've seen is them grabbing one or two souls, and fleeing to Hueco Mundo before anyone can dice them up." He argued. There were no more opinions spoken for a few moments as everyone pondered the last week's events. It had only been a year since Aizen's defeat, and the death of many friends and family members were still on everyone's mind. The mod souls, and Ichigo's father, were only the beginning of the losses that were still mourned as the group of friends contemplated their enemies' newest strategy.

Finally, Ichigo sighed. "Well, sitting here on our thumbs won't solve anything," he rose to his feet, brushing off his pants. Looking at his friends, he smirked at their confused faces. "Well come on, let's ask the Department of Research and Development!"

With nods of agreement, he was followed out by most of the group. Only Kisuke, Tessai, and Yoruichi remained behind. Once the group had left the shop, Kisuke looked at Tessai, who rose to his feet. "I…will go watch the shop." Tessai declaired gruffly, not meeting Kisuke's eyes. Kisuke nodded quietly, and looked to Yoruichi. She had shifted to her black cat form, her golden eyes flashing in the light. They glared fiercely, but her voice was sympathetic. And manly, but Kisuke was used to that.

"Kisuke, you know as well as I do that this has happened before. They deserve to know," her eyes softened at the obvious pain in Kisuke's expression, but she did not back down. After a moment, Uruhara's gaze lowered to the table.

"I know full well. The Department of Research and Development will tell them all about it. It's…well documented. I documented it myself." Kisuke rose to his feet, his face and posture falling into his well-known mask of laid-back amusement.

"After all, what could a lowly-yet-handsome shopkeeper know about what happened over a century ago…?"


End file.
